The government has to protect them,” he said. “The exact population of the tribe is not known, but it is declining. Shiv Visvanathan, a social scientist and a professor at Jindal Global Law School, said the North Sentinel Island was a protected area and not open to tourists. The US consulate in Chennai, the capital of southern Tamil Nadu state, said it was aware of the reports of Chau’s death but spokeswoman Kathleen Hosie declined to comment further due to privacy considerations. The Indian government has what it calls a “hands off, eyes on” policy to the tribe, meaning officials moor boats near the island every few months to check on the inhabitants’ welfare. Photograph: Dinodia Photos/Alamy Stock Photo Tribespeople on North Sentinel Island, where Chau died. “He could be passing on diseases that could literally wipe them all out.” “This is one of the most vulnerable tribes on the planet,” Grig said. Sophie Grig, a senior researcher with Survival International, said that by trying to reach the island Chau had risked both his own safety and that of the tribe. “One among the islands which was opened up was North Sentinel island,” he said.īut Indian officials say there has been no change in the island’s status. Giles said there had been confusion in the territory over whether the island could legally be visited since April, when the Indian government lifted some restrictions on tourists. “We forgive those reportedly responsible for his death.”Ĭhau had visited the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the past and told locals he had a strong desire to visit the Sentinelese and preach to them, a police source told Reuters. “He loved God, life, helping those in need and had nothing but love for the Sentinelese people,” the family said. The family described him as a “beloved son, brother and uncle” as well as a Christian missionary. On Wednesday night Chau’s family posted on his Instagram page saying that they forgave his killers and asked that those who helped him be released. Indian police said a murder case had been registered against “unknown tribesmen” and seven people arrested for helping Chau reach the island. There were 18 small huts, with little fires burning in front of each, fenced off with sticks.” After some time, we came upon a large area of forest cleared for a camp. “They did not come face to face with us, but rather hid in the forest, watching us. We went about a kilometre inside the forest. But there was no reaction or resentment from them. “The tribespeople were on the beach, watching the boat come to the island,” he said. TM Pandit, an anthropologist who had led efforts to contact the tribe, recalled his first contact with the tribe in an interview in September. The tribe fired a volley of arrows at a helicopter sent to retrieve the men’s bodies. In 2006, two Indian fishermen who moored their boat to sleep were killed when the vessel broke loose and drifted on to the shore, according to Survival International, a tribal rights advocacy group. The Sentinelese people violently resist contact with outsiders. Starting in the 1960s, anthropologists – protected by armed guards – succeeded first in exchanging gifts, then conducting field visits with the tribe, but abandoned their efforts around 25 years ago. They are thought to have had no contact with surrounding communities since 1991. North Sentinel Island is about 20 sq miles and the Sentinelese are estimated to number about 100 people. They were colonised by the UK in the 1850s and used as a penal colony, including for Indian dissidents and freedom fighters involved in the 1857 uprising against British rule.Īnthropologists have evidence human life existed on the Andamans at least 2,000 years ago, while genome studies suggest the four native tribes on the islands – of which the Sentinelese are the most isolated – are at least 30,000 years old. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are scattered across the juncture of the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. Later they said he was taken deeper and buried.” He added: “The fishermen who were back in the dinghy saw an arrow hit him. He said Chau, who some Christian groups have claimed was a missionary, had been trying to find ways to reach North Sentinel Island and finally succeeded on Saturday, taking a dinghy with the fishermen, then completing the rest of the journey by kayak. “The fishermen in the dinghies tried to warn him it’s a risky thing,” said Denis Giles, an activist for the rights of tribal groups and a journalist on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Indian territory where the incident took place.
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